Pondicherry is an union territory of India after 1954...Earlier was a french colonial settlement. Its french legacy is preserved in its french quarters with tree lined streets, mustard coloured colonial villas and chic boutiques. Simply strollingdown these streets can give the travelers an insight into the fairytale charm of Pondicherry. A seaside promenade runs along the Bay of Bengal and passes several statues including a 4 mts high Gandhi Memorial and also Amedkar memorial by the promenade. Topped with authentic french bakeries , bohemian stores and cobbled stones pathways that r delightful for a leisurely stroll or bicycle ride ...evening r so heavenly by the beaches at Pondicherry that everyone visiting the place will find it worth visiting.......
My experience:
Though it's my 2nd visit to this union territory of Pondicherry but I was quite excited to see the makeover of this city...Its after a gap of 20 yrs that I was visiting this city and could find so much changed look though the french colony looked the same but traffic has increased 4 fold now....I had booked a night stay at Shunbaga hotel and convention centre which is located in the heart of the city...compared to any 4 star property , it looked quite luxurious....Basically we were on a road from from Chennai to Rameshwaram and Pondicherry was a stopover on our way .....By the time we reach the city it was almost evening...after getting freshened up , we thought to hit the beach instead of sitting in the hotel room after a day long drive across from Chennai to Pondicherry via Mahabalipuram via ECR...
Roads in the french colonies r mostly baricatted by night fall from vehicles ..somehow we drove to the rocky beach parking and then started walking across ...since it was a day prior to holi , the moon dazzled the beach and the waves .....the wind touched my face and I forgot all those tiredness of a day long journey across....clicked few snaps as I walked down to the promenade.....seeing so many people enjoying their walk in leisure , I really felt so good at heart ... then stopped for dinner at a south Indian restaurant by the promenade before heading for the hotel as next morning we had appointment for a visit to the Auroville international village and Matrimandir in the early hours......
It had been a relaxing leisure moments by the sea under the beautiful blue sky & a full moon and the waves & myself .....its really refreshing.
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